Help for jobless bosses 'too late'

A Government announcement of extra help for executives and professional workers who lose their jobs has been described as "too little too late".

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said £40 million will be spent helping around 350,000 people described as "needing help" to find another job.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said: "We are glad that James Purnell has finally woken up and realised that more must be done to help one of the many groups of people being hit by the recession.

But she added: "However, like so many Government announcements this is too little too late. Labour must place more emphasis on tackling the skills gap in the economy and allow people on job seekers allowance to immediately retrain when they lose their job instead of making them wait 18 months."

The Government said the economic downturn was affecting a wide range of industries and occupations, with some professionals and executives going to Jobcentres for the first time in their lives.

Specialist organisations used to helping people into professional jobs will give advice on how to look for jobs, writing a CV, preparing for interviews or how to transfer skills to different jobs.

Mr Purnell said: "We are determined to give everyone who loses their job the support they need to get back to work.

"That is why we are investing an extra £2 billion to help people find a job during these difficult times. From April, this will include targeted support for people who may never have been unemployed before.

"We want to make sure everyone looking for work has the skills and confidence they need to find a suitable job as quickly as possible.

"That is why we are going to give newly unemployed people who need it, access to specialist help."